US Charges Three Men for 'Gozi' Computer Virus

Three men -- from Latvia, Russia and Romania -- have been charged with creating and distributing a computer virus that infected more than a million computers around the world.

The so-called Gozi virus stole online banking information and passwords, according to U.S. federal prosecutors in New York. They said the virus allowed hackers around the world to steal tens of millions of dollars.

Court documents accuse the men of participating in a conspiracy that began in 2005 and continued through much of last year. About 40,000 computers in the United States were infected, including more than 100 at NASA, the U.S. Space agency.

Other destructive viruses and malicious software -- including Zeus Trojan, SpyEye and BlackEnergy -- were distributed through the affected computers, according to the criminal complaint.

Prosecutors say those charged are Latvian Deniss Calovskis, Russian Nikita Kuzmin and Romanian Mihai Ionut Paunescu. Kuzmin is in custody in New York, while Calovskis was taken into custody in Latvia and Paunescu was taken into custody in Romania.There was no immediate comment from their lawyers.